Ransom
by The Mocking J
Summary: When Lucy gets taken hostage, Alfendi Layton is left with a choice— save his assistant or stop the criminal from walking away free. But what does the "other Al" have to say about the matter?
1. Chapter 1

_**[[Who's played Layton Brothers Mystery Room? If you haven't already, get that game right now. The gripping plot's sure to keep any Layton fans, or plain mystery solving fans, entertained. You won't be disappointed.**_

_**This little oneshot takes place sometime after Layton Brothers **_**File No.002- The Bungled Burglary**_**. Small **__**spoiler**__** warning, the identity of the killer in the Jack Potsby murder case will be included (but no spoilers following File No.002). And don't worry, if you haven't played File No.002 yet, the case will be explained enough to avoid confusion.]]**_

* * *

**Ransom**

"By 'eck, my head hurts..." Lucy Baker moaned. Her temples throbbed as if they'd been hit with a steam roller. She tried to open her eyes but her vision kept swimming in and out of focus. All she could gather at first was that it was dark.

_This isn't t' Prof's office... or my house... _The young constable thought groggily; she didn't recognise this place at all. Eventually Lucy also realized she was tied to an uncomfortable wooden chair. How she'd failed to notice this earlier was unbelievable. (Then again, she _did _have a nasty bump on the noggin, so maybe it wasn't down to her being a pure ditz.)

As her mind became clearer, panic began to claw at Lucy's insides. Her breathing quickened and her heart fluttered like a caged bird. _Oh crickey,_ _I must've been kidnapped! _

Before she could start freaking out, her mentor's voice echoed through her mind: _"Try to remain calm." _ Lucy exhaled, swallowing back her worry for the time being. Right now she needed to carefully examine her surroundings; drink in every detail as if she was inspecting a crime scene reconstruction. (That's what the Prof would do.) Maybe then she'd be able to find a way out. Lucy's red eyes trailed around the dank windowless room with dirty grey walls. She could distinguish the faint outline of a door...

There was a _click_ and the door suddenly opened, interrupting her mental analysis.

Two beefy men entered the room. They seemed familiar. (Lucy briefly recalled a fishy duo tailing her home after work...)

A lady sashayed in behind Lucy's stalkers. She was a stunning beauty wearing a tight purple dress, a white fur coat, expensive jewellery and makeup. However, this beauty was tainted by the fierce scowl painted across her rouge lips and the malice that flashed in her eyes. Lucy remembered her instantly.

"It's _YOU_!" Lucy would've added a finger-point had her hands not been bound behind the chair.

Ms Goldie Potsby-Mahn. She'd been the perpetrator of a murder case that Lucy and Alfendi had recently solved. The evil woman literally stabbed Mr Potsby in the back and tried to pin the blame on a petty thief, all for her husband's life insurance. But the Mystery Room officers saw right through her lies and found evidence at Potsby's flat pointing to Goldie as the true criminal.

Goldie's scowl deepened. "Hello, l'il girl. I wish I could have the pleasure of _not _seeing you again."

"That's _DC Baker_ to you," Lucy growled. "And you should be int prison right now!"

"Mah new men busted me out," Goldie explained, gesturing proudly to her pair of goons as if they were prized trophies.

Lucy spat "What happened to _'Bingo'_?" She referred to the canine-like lover who had accompanied Goldie at Scotland Yard. Goldie had treated him like her pet— complete with a collar and a chain.

Goldie shrugged. "He had a...accident. Poor boy."

"I'll bet he did, just like your other husbands." (Goldie's current suitors exchanged a wary glance at this statement.)

"Well, I do declare!" the woman snapped. "Bing was mah best friend. I'd never do nuttin' to purposely hurt him."

"Not unless it lined your pockets," Lucy snorted.

Pain exploded across her Lucy's face, jarring her teeth and causing her to see stars. Goldie had just slapped her.

"There you go again, poking your nose into mah private affairs," Goldie hissed. "You and that snooping inspector had no right to convict me. Jack's pot of gold should've been _mahn_."

Lucy bit the inside of her cheek, tasting blood. That ruthless gold-digger made her sick. But losing her temper wasn't going to help her situation.

"So, you escaped from prison," Lucy sighed. (_And after how hard me and t' Prof worked to make her confess..._) "Shouldn't you be _hiding_ from the police or summat at the moment?"

"Oh, I'll be off on a luxurious getaway as soon as your friend arrives."

The young constable gasped as she understood her captor's intentions. "You're using me to get to the Prof!"

"You're not as simple as you look," Goldie smirked and patted the girl's head (much to Lucy's disdain). "I promised him I wouldn't harm a hair on your pretty l'il head if he came here alone... with mah money, of course."

"He won't fall for it," Lucy snarled. "The Prof's too smart to be played by _you._"

Goldie purred "But he _will._ I could see the pride in his eyes whenever you uncovered a piece of evidence at mah flat. He obviously cares about his obnoxious rookie helper." With those last words, Goldie laughed and walked out of the room.

Lucy put up an enduring struggle against her bindings; however, she only succeeded in giving herself wrist burns. Lucy hung her head on her chest, ashamed and exhausted. She'd failed as a detective constable; because of her the criminal was going to escape with a wad of cash. She'd failed the Mystery Room; this would be a bad mark on their reputation. She'd failed the Prof.

As these guilty thoughts swirled through Lucy's mind, her eyes began to droop. It probably wasn't wise to fall asleep— that blow to the temples might have given her a concussion. But a few minutes of shut-eye would be heaven right now...

Someone was shaking her, hard.

"Ee... Five more minutes..." Lucy mumbled.

There was an impatient grunt. _"Wake up."_

Lucy's eyes snapped open. Her limbs felt stiff... She tried to stretch, but immediately remembered she was strapped to a chair. Or at least she _had _been. Ms Goldie's grunts were untying her for some reason... Both of them holding her arms, they dragged her out of the room. They were definitely outside now, standing in some sort of dingy alleyway. Lucy suspected (and _prayed) _that they were still in London.

Lucy saw Goldie's figure a little further down the alley. The woman was talking to someone, goading...

Then Lucy noticed the person shift from the shadows, hands in their pockets. She heard _his _voice.

"_PROF!"_ She should've kept quiet. If she hadn't drawn attention to herself, or sounded so _desperate_, he might have forgotten her and left. But she couldn't hide her relief that he was here.

"Lucy?" Alfendi stepped out of the shadows, head turning to study his assistant's condition.

"Pardon me, Inspector," Goldie folded her arms. "I do believe we were in the middle of a conversation."

Alfendi's brow furrowed as he frowned at her. "I assure you that I'm here alone. The police will no longer continue to search for you. Release Lucy now, please."

"Have you forgotten the other part of our bargain?" Goldie stalked over to the thrashing Lucy and her men.

"GET AWAY, PROF! DON'T DO NOWT SHE SAYS—"

The woman suddenly revealed a knife from her fur coat. This wasn't a homemade ice knife; it was a deadly silver blade one might find in hell's kitchen. She held the weapon to Lucy's neck. "I hope you have mah payment, Inspector. Double what I would've got from Jack's life insurance."

Lucy shut up, eyeing the knife at her throat warily. She slowly lifted her gaze to meet her mentor's. What Lucy saw filled her with horror.

Alfendi had pulled what was presumably Ms Goldie's bag of money out of his lab coat pocket. However, he had _changed. _His fingers twisted tightly around the bag. His burgundy hair seemed to turn blood red; dishevelled, it hung in his wild eyes. His calm voice took on dark undertone.

He was _laughing._

This wasn't the first time it had happened. Florence had told Lucy that whenever he was in the presence of a criminal, the 'other side' of Alfendi Layton would rear his head.

But Lucy couldn't believe the Prof would change _now,_ when her life was at stake. "P-please snap out of it, Prof..."

"I hardly see how this is _funny," _Goldie barked at him. "Give me mah money this instant or she dies."

"You'd get a kick out of that, wouldn't you, Goldie?" Alfendi giggled. "I can imagine your sick satisfaction as you slit her skinny little neck..."

"I _will _kill her, Inspector!" Goldie swore shrilly.

"You don't have the guts."

"Watch me."

Lucy's agonised scream ripped through Alfendi's consciousness, reverting him back to his stable mindset. He held his head in his hands for several seconds with a groan. "Urgh... L...Lucy? LUCY!"

The money bag fell from Alfendi's hand as he ran towards his assistant.

"GRAB IT, _GRAB THE BAG AND LET'S GO_!" Goldie shrieked at her men to leave their hostage. The three fled down the alley with the money. Alfendi didn't give a damn about the criminals. He crouched at his assistant's side and gathered her in his arms, examining the knife wound on her neck. Sticky, crimson blood gushed out.

_What have I done? _He thought.

Alfendi quickly removed his coat, pulling a walkie-talkie out of the pocket and wrapping the coat into a bundle. He pressed it to Lucy's throat, hoping the pressure would prevent the bleeding. The cut was quite deep. But she should survive, as long as she received immediate medical attention...

Static crackled on his walkie-talkie._ "Al, come in. We've caught Potsby and her accomplices outside the alley."_

Alfendi held down the "talk" button, answering _"Thanks, Lawson. I've got Lucy. She has to get to the hospital immediately."_

"_Bring her out; I'm firing up the car as we speak."_

Alfendi switched off the transceiver a_s _Lucy quivered, releasing a weak whimper.

He gently picked her up, whispering "You're going to make it, DC Baker. The Mystery Room needs you."

* * *

_**[[Hopefully Alfendi and Lucy were more in-character than my previous story about them. Review please :D]] **_


	2. Chapter 2

_**[[One chapter is never good enough for you lot, is it? Lol, I'm kidding XD Thanks for all the kind reviews. Since I left this story on a dreary cliff hanger— and because Lucy/Alfendi has become my new OTP— I decided to write another chapter with a happy ending, though there'll be much less action. And we get a special cameo from an Unwound Future character, so there'll be some SPOILERS for the third game.]]**_

* * *

Justin Lawson dodged through traffic like a maniac (screw the British speed limit); police sirens blaring. Meanwhile Alfendi sat in the back of the car with Lucy's head in his lap, her body lying across the seat. Alfendi rang the hospital on the way to explain they were bringing in an officer who had been seriously wounded by a knife.

As Lucy was rushed inside the building, Lawson told him "Al, I need to get back to help the others with Potsby-Mahn now…" His voice softened in concern. "Let me know if the kid pulls through."

"She _will _pull through," Alfendi growled.

Lawson just looked at him hopelessly, sighed, and drove away in his cruiser.

Lucy had to be taken into the emergency unit, and Alfendi wasn't even allowed to accompany her.

"Why _not?_" Alfendi demanded.

The nurse studied him over the desk as if he was the most exciting specimen she'd dealt with all day. According to the hospital I.D. badge, her name was Natalia Green. She looked about forty or fifty, yet it was impossible to calculate her exact age for she was ghastly pale and dry as a prune. Her dirty once-purple hair wasn't doing her many favours either. (_And people believe __**my**__ hair is greasy _Alfendi thought in disgust.)

"Those are the rules," Natalia replied tartly.

"Forget the rules— this is urgent!" Lucy was here because of _him_; he should be by her side right now.

Natalia huffed and observed the clipboard in her hands. "Name?"

"Alfendi Layton." The woman's droopy eyes widened slightly, but she made no comment.

"Relation to patient?"

"I'm her co-worker…" Then Alfendi amended, "Her _friend_."

"You're not even a close relative of Ms Baker. I'm afraid you're going to have to stay out here."

Alfendi snarled, yellow eyes flashing. His alter ego nearly showed again for a split second. However, this time he managed to compose himself. Sighing, the inspector went to sit in one of the waiting room's hard plastic chairs.

The walls were painted a sickly green colour (a poor choice) and were aligned with posters distributing health information and hospital policy. The entire place reeked of antiseptics that burned Alfendi's nostrils; it was an unpleasant reminder of the fatal injuries he'd suffered four years ago…

Several tedious hours of waiting elapsed. The first signs of exhaustion and dehydration began to affect Alfendi's system— yawning, eye rubbing, headaches. But he refused to go out and buy a coffee from the café downstairs. What if there were any changes in Lucy's condition?

To pass the time, he flicked through the ancient newspapers on a small table. There was also a discarded gossip magazine; however, Alfendi could care less about how retired celebrity model Celia Raidley_ "Hides all her wrinkles!"_ When Natalia approached him, he stuffed the paper he was reading into his pocket.

Alfendi felt a wave of immense relief when Natalia informed him: "Your friend is in recovery. We've got her stabilised, but she'll need to remain here for a couple of days."

"Thank God… When may I see her?"

"As soon as she wakes up. I warn you though; she'll be in a lot pain."

The pair became silent as they waited for the all clear that Lucy was fine. Every so often Natalia would glance at him. She seemed to be a woman of few words, but something about him had piqued her interest.

"Are you the son of Professor Hershel Layton?" the nurse inquired.

"Indeed I am."

"Oh." That was it. She neither sounded surprised nor impressed. Many imagined Alfendi would be a genius puzzle fanatic and a true gentleman just like his father. People were always disappointed to learn this wasn't the case. (Well, at least he'd inherited the genius part.)

"Years ago, I was one of the citizens who lived and worked in the fake city beneath London," Natalia offered casually. "I'm not saying your father isn't a hero… But he didn't do much to help the citizens escape from underground."

_That's because he was a bit busy stopping a bloody mobile fortress from destroying the real London, _Alfendi thought vehemently.

Alfendi surged to his feet when a doctor finally appeared to inform him that Lucy was conscious. He didn't even bid Natalia farewell as he hastily followed the doctor into the recovery room.

It shook Alfendi to the core to see his assistant swathed in bandages and hooked up to a machine. _She'd lost so much blood…_ He fell into the chair beside Lucy's bed, remembering over and over that it was _his_ fault she was here. The horrifying scene kept replaying in his mind: Potsby-Mahn's threat, the flash of the knife, his assistant's pained cry…

A pale white hand weakly gripped the bed sheets. Then there was a groan. "P-prof…?" Lucy's voice was thin as silk.

"We can't keep her awake for too long," the doctor mouthed.

Alfendi nodded to him. He clasped his assistant's fingers and murmured, "I'm here, I'm right here, Lucy."

Lucy's eyes flew open when she heard him. Shaking, she started at Alfendi as if he'd turned into a monster; her red irises wild and filled with fear.

After a tense moment Lucy calmed down and croaked "O-oh, you're back to normal… Prof, what 'appened? Did we beat G-goldie?"

Hopefully the doctors would pass off her first statement as anaesthetic induced disorientation. Alfendi smiled at her gently. "A group of officers was assembled outside the alley to apprehend Ms Potsby-Mahn and her friends. Now they'll be back behind bars for good... However, I believe the better question is: how do you feel?"

"I'm alright…" Lucy tried an optimistic shrug, but only ended up wincing (clearly refuting her point). The doctor noticed and, after silently alerting Alfendi, gave Lucy a needle to reduce the pain.

"Prof…" Lucy yawned as she went under the anaesthetic again "Promise me summat?"

Alfendi leaned in closer to listen. "What is it?"

"Even though… I got hurt… I can still work int Mystery Room… with you, right?"

"Of course," Alfendi assured her as her eyes drifted shut once more. He kissed Lucy's hair before fixing her cap on her head. "I promise."

* * *

_**[[Did I mention Lucy/Alfendi has become my new OTP? Sorry Emmy/Layton, you've been replaced!**_

_**...I'd like to apologise for not including the spoiler warning sooner -.-]]**_


End file.
